After the Vietnam War, many Hmong people found themselves as refugees. The resettlement of some to the United States began in 1975, with multiple waves continuing until 2006. Today Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to the largest urban Hmong population in the world. The Hmong people in Minnesota have developed a strong and vibrant community in their chapter of the immigrant story in America.
September 26, 2017 - MPR’s Nancy Yang reports that art and farming join forces when the Hmong American Farmers Association and a trio of Twin Cities artists add a new staple to the CSA produce box. The result is ArtCrop.
October 27, 2017 - MPR’s Tim Nelson takes a look at Dai Thao, a St. Paul city council member and a former Hmong refugee, who is running for mayor. Thao shares his personal history and political platform.
December 4, 2017 - On All Things Considered, Steven John interviews Sophia Vuelo, a lawyer of Hmong descent, on becoming a Minnesota judge. Vuelo discusses the need for diversity in the court system.
April 11, 2018 - As part of Water Month at MPR, Chu Xiong of St. Paul shares his love for fishing and how it connects to Hmong culture. Xiong also expresses the importance of respecting nature as resource.
December 24, 2018 - MPR Host Angela Davis talks with Minnesota chef Yia Vang about food traditions. Vang describes his "Hmong Hot Dish."
March 6, 2019 - On this episode of Appetites, MPR’s Tom Crann talks with chef Yia Vang about Hmong food and his latest project in a residency at Sociable Cider Werks in northeast Minneapolis. Historically, Hmong people as an indigenous group moved around Southeast Asia to find quality farmlands. Vang says that aspect of the culture and history of the Hmong people is why the food can't be tied to a specific product, technique or style.
August 16, 2019 - In the early 2000s, Hmong Americans from Minneapolis and St. Paul flocked to Walnut Grove in southwestern Minnesota. The city is best known for its hero, Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote about life in the town. The Hmong immigrants were drawn to farmland, jobs at local factories, and the slower pace of life. That influx of newcomers helped keep Walnut Grove’s main drag alive. But a generation in, the Hmong Americans who came to the region are facing a challenge familiar to other rural Americans…How do you give young people a reason to stay?
October 9, 2019 - MPR’s Elizabeth Shockman looks at Hmong for Native Speakers, a school elective taught in Hmong and grounded in Hmong history, culture, and language. It was created at Brooklyn Park’s Park Center High School to bridge a learning gap between culture and classroom academics.
October 25, 2019 - MPR’s Tiffany Bui profiles Yang See, who worked as principal assistant to the liaison between the CIA and the Lao Royal Army under the radio code name “Glass Man” at the height of the Secret War in Laos. As communists seized power in Laos in 1975, he helped Hmong refugees flee the war and find safe harbor.
June 8, 2020 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Dai Thao, who remembers Marny Xiong, St. Paul school board chair, who died of COVID-19 at the age of 31. She was a champion for racial justice and equity.